Building Client Relationships with Your Web Site
We’re all aware of the basic uses for our web sites. They list hours and locations, they tell about your services and a little about your company- not very exciting, but necessary.
If you stop there, you are only scratching the surface of what a web site can do for you. You are missing the ingredients that create the desire to visit your site on a frequent basis. That’s because a site listing only the basics about the company is focused on itself- and therefore not set up to build relationships and grow interaction.
It’s just like life, to build a relationship with someone, you focus on them, by asking questions about them and letting them talk about themselves. It’s that concept which builds an interesting web site. Put the focus on your clients instead of your company and it will become interesting to those who visit your site!
Put the focus on your clients instead of your company and it will become interesting to those who visit your site!
How do you focus on the client? We work in an industry where it’s easier to do that because almost every project we frame has a story behind it, and telling stories is interesting.
When your site begins to feature the stories about why your clients frame, interaction begins. Soon clients start going to your site to read about themselves. If you add a picture of them holding their projects, they call their friends and families and direct them to your site.
You don’t have to say anything about how great your service is or how well you design, because when you let clients tell their story, they almost always volunteer flattering details about your service.
Why do they do this? Because they are now in a relationship with your company. You started it by focusing on them and now they feel comfortable about praising you. You have built a stronger bond with your client- that translates into the type of customer loyalty and builds a very strong business.
What other things can you do to build relationships with clients and create interest in your site?
- You can focus on building interaction – allowing visitors to participate in the content of your site. Everyone knows that social interaction is hugely popular today. Everyone blogs because they want their opinions heard. Give your clients that opportunity. Let them voice opinions on all kinds of subjects and let them read about the interests of your staff. Blogging builds relationships because it opens the channel of two way communication. It shows you care about what your customer thinks.
- Create online contests that focus on the ideas and insights of the client. Such as their idea of the proper type of framing for a certain décor or their idea of the item they would most like to frame and why.
- Offer coupons or special savings available only on your web site to encourage frequent visits.
- Change the site monthly, featuring new client stories and interactive ideas.
- Offer a signup area on your sight so that visitors can register for your email newsletter that offers them exclusive services and specials.
- Go further and facebook your site. Create a fan base that can follow what you are doing and interact with your postings about them. This is another way of building interaction that focuses on the client.
Why go to all this trouble? Yes, it is a lot of work. But besides building customer loyalty, you learn many things about your clients. When you let them tell their stories you learn WHY they are motivated to frame. When you know this, you have a better chance of creating programs that motivate others to frame. Also, when you build traffic to your site, you increase the chances that someone will notice a program or service you offer.
Increasing interaction means increasing the number of times clients think about you and your service. That’s the goal of any marketing plan.
Finally, remember to monitor the results of your efforts. Register your site with Google analytics so that you can see if site visits are increasing. You can also learn about how visitors are finding your site, what parts of the site they are looking at and how long they spend there. Set some goals for improving these statistics and soon you’ll begin to see how your hard work is paying off.
